Milton resident Erica Neal and her fiancé Dennis Clement stand outside the home they are legally forbidden to enter. They allege the town and water district are at fault for their home's foundation becoming unstable. (John Nolan/Times photo)

MILTON — There are two official notices affixed to the outside doors of 79 Charles St., each which states the building is unsafe for human occupancy per NH RSA 155-B. Each notice adds, “It is unlawful for any person to enter, occupy or reside in the building per order of the town of Milton.”

They are signed by Milton Code Enforcement Officer Brian Boyers, and dated Oct. 22, 2013.

The home belongs to lifelong Milton resident Erica Neal, 36, who is currently living outside the house in a vehicle with her fiancé, Dennis Clement. Only the family cat, not being a person, looks balefully out the window.

Boyers, asked by the Rochester Times last week about the status of the property, said, “The building is not condemned. I just put the notices up to keep people out while they were away.”

Beyond that, with litigation in the pipeline, the code enforcement officer would not comment on why the notices are still attached to the building, with Neal and Clement back in Milton after a spell in Florida.

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An official town notice, warning that it is illegal to enter or occupy 79 Charles St. in Milton, is affixed to the front door of the home. A similar notice is taped to the side door. (John Nolan/Times photo)

Similarly, Milton Town Administrator Elizabeth Dionne said that, on the advice of the town's legal counsel, she could not comment.

Neal bought her home in May 2010 and, she recounts, in June of that year the town, in conjunction with Milton Water District, did work on the road — replacing water pipes and repaving.

She asserts that the highway department paved over what had been a gravel strip in front of her home, which acted as a drainage area in rainstorms. In addition, Neal said, instead of water in a rainstorm flowing down Charles Street into a drain, the camber of the road now made the water flow over her property and against her home.

“In 2011 it started to affect the landscaping. I complained to the public works department and the town and was told they were aware of it and it would be fixed. In 2012 it got worse and washed the driveway and the lawn away. I called the town again and was told it would be addressed,” asserted Neal

“Promises made and not kept,” added Clement.

In the spring of 2013, Neal and Clement saw the first signs that their home was being structurally impacted, with a pile of dirt under the basement stairs.

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John Nolan/Times photo
Milton resident Erica Neal and her fiancé Dennis Clement stand outside the home they are legally forbidden to enter. They allege the town and water district are at fault for their home’s foundation becoming unstable.

“We stopped (Road Agent) Pat Smith in the road, and he took a look at it and advised us to file a written complaint with the town administrator,” said Clement. “They had 30 days to send a written answer.”

With no word forthcoming, and with the three-year statute of limitations running out (from June 2010), Neal, who is a paralegal by training, filed a lawsuit, naming the water district and the town as defendants.

“If they had fixed the pitch of the road in 2011, we would have avoided this issue,” said Clement.

Last September, recalls Neal, a structural engineer hired by the town did an inspection, but stopped before it was complete, allegedly explaining the building was too unsafe. By this time the basement stairs had cracked.

Neal and Clement drove to Florida to look after an ill resident, while her son, who attends the local school, stayed in town with her parents.

In November, according to Neal, the town did “emergency road work to prevent further damage” by creating a shallow hot top gully in front of their property to channel the water flowing down the road and steer it to the drain.

Judging by the trail of gravel over their property, this appears to have been only partly successful.

Meanwhile, a Strafford County Superior Court judge, according to Neal, has given the town until a date in May to reinspect the property and to make an offer.

Neal and Clement came back from Florida in early April, and in accordance with the notices on their home prohibiting entry, spent the first night in their SUV in the municipal office parking lot, from where they could see their home, just down the street.

On the second night they were moved on by the police and told to park in front of their house, despite the winter parking ban, which runs through April.

Neal and Clement visited the town welfare office, but were redirected to Boyers, who allegedly told them their house is safe to live in.

“This contradicts what is on our door. It's mixed information,” said Neal. “We are waiting for a court date. It is extremely stressful, especially every time we hit a brick wall. It's their fault and they won't help and we can't apply for assistance without residency. Welfare says our house is not condemned and the sign says it is.”

Neal says she owns the building outright, and since buying it says she and her fiancé have spent an additional $40,000 putting on a new roof, and installing new windows, a chimney liner, adding a deck (where they can still legally sit), and more.

Neal is being represented by Rochester attorney Don Whittum, who said that, as he recalls, the court has set May 3 as the deadline for the two parties to reach an agreement as to a repair cost. This would necessitate the town making an offer of recompense that is agreeable to Neal and Clement.

“The court could mandate arbitration if agreement is not reached,” said Whittum, who did not wish to discuss the details of the case. “Or it could go on the trial calendar and be heard in the fall,” he added.